Downed

'Downed' is a sculpture which appears to have fallen out of the sky, landing partially destroyed into an enclosed space. This object refers to the biplanes of the early twentieth century, but it is constructed from timber and vivid red textiles. 'Downed' references the cultural shifts in the perception of women, moving from domestic sphere to munitions factory, and the vision of the flying machine itself; the bird of freedom remade as warplane. The hybrid, functionless nature of 'Downed', its symbolic colour, and its dramatic collapse into the ground comment on the nature of historical and contemporary warfare, and the anomalies of the roles allotted to its female participants.